The canned wine business has grown rapidly in the last decade, focusing on specific typologies: young, fragrant, mono-varietal, and sparkling wines.
Canned wine: all the advantages
Regarding canned wine, it is a bet to which wineries have joined with greater wariness, due to the image distortion that until recently this format implied, as well as because canned wine requires a specific investment in machinery.
But for consumers, reaching for a can when enjoying a wine has many advantages: it is an unbreakable container, easily transportable, for individual consumption, which quickly reaches and maintains an ideal temperature. Cans can also be bought from vending machines and consumed in areas where bottles are banned or difficult to transport beaches, cruises, outdoor excursions, sporting events... Cans are also a good alternative to offer on airplanes.
The world market for canned wine
Considering all these points, it is not surprising that the market for canned wine has had such great growth during the last decade. According to a study by the consulting firm Nielsen, in the United States alone, sales of wine in this format increased from $ 2 million in 2012 to $ 183.6 million in 2020. In 2019, the world market for canned wine was estimated at $ 70.3 million.
Nevertheless, to enter this business - which is still more dynamic in markets such as the United States than in old Europe - wineries must consider that not all wines are suitable for canning or seductive for consumers of this format. What prevails here are young, fresh wines, with clear fruit and varietal expression, frank and rather simple. And especially, bubbles triumph. Let's not forget that canned wine was born, among other things, to compete with soft drinks and beer. With that purpose in mind, carbonation is the perfect ally.